Alcoholism and Women: The Background and the Psychology

There are approximately 12 million alcoholics or problem - drinkers in Canada and the United States. A third of these are women. Why do they drink? What are they looking for? Who are the women who choose alcohol as a "solution" to their problems, only to find themselves chosen by alcoholism? Have they anything in common?This book explores these questions and many more. Beginning with an overview of cultural attitudes and clinical descriptions. it compares and contrasts medical and psychological models of alcoholism, particularly as they relate to the woman drinker. It goes on to examine the relative success of Alcoholics Anonymous - for women - in terms of archetypal patterns represented by the Greek gods Apollo (structure and order), Dionysos (freedom and intoxication) and Aesklepios (the wounded healer).A stunning final chapter presents detailed case histories and an entirely original view of female alcoholism, based on dreams and ways of functioning personified by female goddesses in Greek mythology.Here is an author with a firm perspective on both the inner and outer aspects of alcoholism, never losing sight of her particular focus - the woman alcoholic. Her insights will be appreciated by both men and women, lay or professional.Jan Bauer has an M.A. in Adult Education from Boston University and a Diploma in Analytical Psychology from the C.G. Jung Institute in Zurich. She practices as a Jungian Analyst in Zurich. Read more